Certification

A certification is proof of an individual’s competency in a specific set of skills. Whereas an exam measures a person’s competency, a certification confirms that the person is competent. Certifications are typically awarded after a person has passed one or more exams. Therefore, certifications may be considered a logical progression of course and exams.

While not mandatory, certifications usually have an expiration date associated with them. That is, a person who holds a certificate can claim to be certified only for a defined period, after which she must re-apply for certification. When a certification has an expiration date, it is usually because the awarding company expects the skill or technology (for which the certificate was awarded) to evolve or become obsolete.

Unlike courses and exams, which might or might not be associated with products, a certification is almost always awarded for a specific product or set of products. Oracle CRM On Demand supports the association of a certificate with courses, exams, products, product categories, and solutions. None of these associations is mandatory; that is, you can associate as many or as few of these with a certification as appropriate. In some cases, you can even define a certification that is not associated with any course, exam, product, product category, or solution.